Question of the Week


This week's question goes to Vincent Corona-Evans (somethingwhimsical) the maker of those little BOB guys and a wonderful illustrator about his earliest art memories (he takes us deep into his psyche with this one) and this is what he had to say: "My earliest "art memory" is broken up into several glimpses and/or happenings that may or may not have occurred to me between the ages of four to seven. There is a perplexing phenomenon that happens inside my head when I think of such events that far back. I tend to blur and confuse factual moments that have actually happened with stories that were told to me about other people by other people. So although I believe the small list below to be events from my life, I must concede, reluctantly, that these may just be snippets of stories told to me.

#1 Art memory: (This memory is definitely mine.) Playing with pasta letters on a fold-up card table with newspaper on it. I remember thinking how cool the letters looked even though I couldn't read yet. I pretended to write words by putting them in long lines and then asking my mom to tell me what I spelled. This was my first tangible memory of my love of pretending. Pretending was my creative inspiration. I'd pretend I was on a planet, and I would draw it on paper and there it was. I remember having paper beside me almost every time my mind created some new adventure. I look back in old notebooks and I see layouts of houses and landscapes, and musicians with instruments and whole stage diagrams. Cars, boats, planes, spaceships, superhero costumes, you name it. Not a single one of those drawings didn't have a whole days worth of fantasy wrapped around it.

#2 Inspirational: I remember being made to draw on red construction paper and then being forced to cut the drawing out with crappy scissors. I don't know what this means, but I remember it like it was yesterday and I still feel frustrated by it. (This would make me laugh if in fact this wasn't my own memory.)

#3 Something like that: Seeing the Easter bunny in my back yard. I know, at first, this may seem derived from a WB cartoon and completely none "art" related, but this felt so real to me and has had such an impact on me it just has to be true. Several things stuck out about my encounter that day as well. First, this thing was man size. I mean huge and fat and tall. And not that fast. It hobbled out slow on its hind feet from the tall weeds growing behind our house. Then it stopped and noticed me and just stared. I was frozen with fear. That big round rabbit face just stared at me. Terrifying. I do remember even in my anxiety thinking this is strange. Not to mention, it was fall. I think. October or November. I ran back into the house to tell everyone what had happened and no one really responded at all or even looked down. I still believe I developed a stutter at that moment tugging on their pant legs.

So in wrapping up, these memories came the quickest and climbed the highest among fact and uncertain fact. Leaving me with an interesting self-examination. I still live in a world of make-believe regarding my work. I'm frustrated by tasks with crappy equipment, and to this day I need people to look at me when I talk. Oh yeah, and I don't even know if this is me I'm talking about. :) (love ya Vin!)

Tips for Photographing Jewelry from the Amazing Kella MacPhee


Today I asked my favorite Jersey Girl Photographer Kella MacPhee - check her out and prepare to be blown away - for some quick tips to better jewelry photographs. Kella says - Interesting + FAKE IT LIKE A PRO photos can be achieved in 3 steps! #1 Light. Turn that blinding automatic flash off! The built in flash on a camera is a photographer's worst enemy and will ruin any shot. Your best bet is to invest in a lightbox, they are not too much money and will ensure that you get even light and the proper white balance every time! {www.bhphotovideo.com} This will eliminate the need to fuss with camera settings before photographing your products each time. If you're saying to yourself, hey I'm a starving artist here, I don't have money for a fancy lightbox, but still want great photos try cheap, however unpredictable sunlight! Not as practical as the lightbox, but beautiful none the less. Some examples would be the soft and diffused light of a window {try setting up a table with your art next to a window} another option is venturing outdoors. Two rules to keep in mind: first you stay out of that midday sun- your photos will have harsh shadows and be blown out! {even your jewelry does not like to look pasty} {early morning and late afternoon are best} and 2. when shooting outside in light other than those great early morning hours and the "magic hour" before sunset, look for even shade, there is nothing worse than mottled light. Using light properly will ensure you have clean, evenly lit, pro looking pics!
#2. Angle. Change your angle. Eye catching photos are created by thinking outside the box. Long gone are the days when photos need to be shot straight on.. so 1992 and so boring! Try setting your camera down and shooting at the same level as the product. Another technique is to shoot up at the product... creating some drama. Shooting straight down and I mean straight down, get your butt up on that chair can also be interesting and modern. Play around and have fun, look at some of your favorite sellers and see what it is about them that is catching your eye.
#3. Composition. Think outside the center. Centered images are boring! Negative space is king! Try placing your product on the left side and leaving the right side empty. Interesting photos are not always achieved by filling up space. Leaving room for your products to breathe can create these artistic + pro images you're after. Check out these beautiful photos by lilfishstudios and tqbdesigns.Another method is layering, now this is where it gets technical, for all you point and shooters out there cover your eyes. Gosh darn it control that depth of field if using a manual camera, think larger apertures like 2.8 or 4 {I know these seem like small #'s, but they really are large and let in more light, creating only a small portion of the image in focus.. yada, yada} by using a shallower depth of field and being in control over what you decide you want in focus, you will instantly have more professional pics. So show a variety of pics on your page, but maybe one can have a the pendant of your necklace in focus while the chain is not. Some of the most interesting photos are only parts of subjects, leaving the viewer intrigued or an interesting composition allowing your eye to move around the image.REMEMBER you are artists appealing to creative buyers .. this is not ebay.. the first thing people see is the photos.. be creative and HAVE FUN!

Don't you just love this...


because the world is so fast and so small... this is a poem from issue 12 of a wonderful little collection called Words Dance from VerveBathPress on Etsy! I just love this!